Soul Calibur II: Soul Edge Complete
by Erk2136
Summary: Four years have passed since the demonic blade, Soul Edge, was shattered. Now, nineteen people journey forth to claim the ultimate weapon. Some desire its power, and others hope to destroy it once and for all. (Chapter 6 is complete!)
1. Introduction

Disclaimer: I do not in any way, shape, or form own Soul Calibur II and its characters.  
  
This is my first story! I have tried to include as many characters, locations, swords, and events from the game, and yet add my own personal touch. This story is rated PG-13 for violence. Please review! I appreciate constructive criticism as well as compliments — anything that will help me wright better stories in the future. Well, here it is: my version of Soul Calibur II (if you already anything about the game, you may want to just skim over the introduction). Enjoy!

* * *

**Introduction: The Spreading of the Evil Seed**  
  
There once existed an evil, demonic sword by the name of Soul Edge. This sword would consume the souls of those it defeated, as well as the one who wielded it. As anyone or anything would be corrupted by its presence, no one was safe from it's wrath. Soul Edge was an enormous sword that could instantly be recognized by the monstrous eyes that it possessed. On each side of the sword was a single, bloodshot eye. These eyes struck fear into the hearts of all that saw them, although they didn't tend to live long afterwards.  
  
After a great battle, the sword was split in two. However, each half remained a force to be reckoned with. The pieces eventually fell into the possession of two different men: Cervantes de Leon and Siegfried Schtauffen. The two of them never saw or knew about the other, but they still had the same goal in mind. Strengthen the unholy weapon and use it to become the more powerful than anyone else. Little did they know, but they were destined to fail.  
  
Cervantes met his downfall when he fought two holy warriors: one was named Taki, and the other was called Sophitia. Taki fought the man until he had breathed his last, and Sophitia shattered his half of Soul Edge. However, their success was not without sacrifice. The shards of Soul Edge flew in all directions, gravely injuring Sophitia. Taki was barely able to heal her. Neither one of them realized that a few of the pieces had also imbedded themselves in Cervantes's dead body . . . .  
  
Siegfried, on the other hand, was destined to become more powerful than Cervantes. He had not been ready to handle the true power of Soul Edge, and he soon found himself entirely under its control. Forced to do the blade's will, he became the evil knight called Nightmare. He slaughtered countless innocent victims to feed their souls to the sword. Soul Edge gradually became stronger.  
  
Unfortunately, the process was to slow. So, Nightmare asked a man named Astaroth to help, and he tricked a women called Ivy into assisting him. Little did he know, but Astaroth also desired the sword. He was a golem created a high priest who worked for a cult. Acting upon his master's orders, Astaroth went out in search for Soul Edge. This ax-swinging giant eventually found the sword, but it was in Nightmare's clutches. Seeing that the sword was weak, he agreed to feed souls to the sword, although he secretly planed to steal it once it had regained its former strength.  
  
Ivy, on the other hand, had set out after her father went insane trying to find this "ultimate weapon." Having learned of the sword's evil nature, she wanted to destroy it. Nightmare tricked her into collecting souls for the sword by telling her they could use it to defeat Soul Edge. She didn't realize that she was actually strengthening the very sword she had hoped to eliminate.  
  
Finally, the sword neared its full strength. Astaroth was preparing to take Soul Edge from Nightmare, but he never got the chance. At about that time, three people showed up at their castle. Their names where Maxi, Kilik, and Xianghua. They had come on a long journey to defeat Soul Edge. Upon entering the castle, Maxi stayed behind to take on Astaroth, who he finally succeeded in slaying. The remaining two fought Nightmare in a desperate battle. In the end, Nightmare was beaten by Kilik. It was at this time that Xianghua drew her faithful sword, Soul Calibur. Soul Calibur was a holy sword. In every way that Soul Edge was evil, Soul Calibur was good. In fact, it could be said that this sword was the polar opposite of Soul Edge. With this blade, she was able to break the dark sword into hundreds of pieces which were scattered across Europe.  
  
The attack resulted in a tear in space-time, and Nightmare (who was still clinging to life), Soul Calibur, and a few pieces of Soul Edge were lost in the void. And that was it — Soul Edge was destroyed.  
  
The heros rejoiced, and went back to their former lives. Ivy, who had not been in the castle at the time, realize that she had been helping Soul Edge all this time. She disappeared shortly after. Nightmare was gone, Astaroth and Cervantes were dead. The future looked promising. But it was not so. The evil still lived on in the shattered pieces of Soul Edge, and the time was coming where old allies would once again be called upon to defeat the great evil. Four years passed, and the world was slowly cast into a shadow once again. The second adventure begins . . . . 


	2. Darkness Reborn

**Chapter 1: Darkness Reborn**  
  
Siegfried Schtauffen lay awake in bed. This was not the first time his thoughts had disrupted his sleep and it would certainly not be the last. And to think that only an hour ago he had been sleeping peacefully. That is, of course, until his reoccurring dream returned for what had to be the hundredth time.  
  
Nearly every night it was the same dream: he stood in a temple, fully clad in armor, wielding the terrible sword, Soul Edge. Thick mist appeared around him. From this mist a man and a women would appear. After a fruitless battle, night after night, he would nearly be slain by the man, and the woman would destroy Soul Edge right before his eyes. It was then that the void would open, swallowing him, a few fragments of Soul Edge, and the women's sword, which he now realized was Soul Calibur.  
  
The void would then seal itself, leaving him trapped within. It was here that Siegfried was forced to experience visions of the countless sins he had committed. Among these was the murder of his father. Siegfried was not proud of these memories. He had, in fact, acted under the influence of Soul Edge. In a sense, he was only partially responsible for these acts — it had been the will of the sword. However, this did little to put his troubled heart at ease.  
  
Siegfried was also furious at himself for falling under Soul Edge's control. He had first encountered the evil sword long ago, lying at the feet of a dead pirate. As he approached, hellfire consumed the corpse, and it sprang to life. Using every ounce of his strength, he succeeded in defeating the being which he later dubbed, "Inferno." With Inferno gone, he picked up the sword.  
  
Although Soul Edge uttered no words, Siegfried could sense that the sword was talking to him. He was sure of it. It asked him to feed it souls, for only then could it grow stronger. It promised to revive his father, so he followed its orders. He was a fool.  
  
Before long, he was completely under the sword's control. He ceased to be Siegfried and became Nightmare — the evil knight that would throw all of Europe into a state of terror. Much too late, he realized that the sword never intended to bring back his father, nor did it have the power.  
  
At the height of his reign of terror, he was defeated and Soul Edge was shattered. And so, released form Soul Edge's control, he found himself lost in the void where he was nearly driven insane.  
  
That was four years ago. Now he new better. Before, he was foolish enough to believe he had seen the last of that fiery creature. Of course, he now knew this was not so. In fact, he was well aware that Inferno was indeed the living essence of the sword taking on a human-like form. He would never be rid of Inferno for it lived on within the pieces of the sword. It would only die if Soul Edge were destroyed.  
  
Unfortunately, he was also aware just how difficult a task that would prove to be. He had tried. You must remember that the pure sword, Soul Calibur, had been trapped in the void as well. Siegfried had attempted to eliminate his fragments of Soul Edge, but to no avail. He feared the reason was that Soul Edge could not be destroyed in its current state. Or perhaps, it was because Soul Calibur was weakening.  
  
Overexposure to the fragments had poisoned Soul Calibur for the last four years. The once good sword was not clearly its former self: it had started to emit an evil aura (though not quite as strongly as Soul Edge) and a monstrous eye had appeared on the blade just above the handle as a mark of Soul Edge's influence. Even now, its power continued to wane.  
  
Siegfried feared that Soul Calibur was his only way of completely wiping out Soul Edge. As soon he had broken through the void, he had hidden it in the very castle where it had defeated him. Finally aware Soul Edge's control over him was growing once more, he Soul Calibur in the castle to prevent himself (more specifically, Nightmare) from destroying it.  
  
It was a good thing that he had done so, for he had nearly collected enough fragments to create a weak version of the malevolent blade. He knew that it would regain its control over him very soon now.  
  
Realizing that his thoughts would not permit him to go back to sleep, he left the room. He headed to the door of the house, wanting to feel the cool, night air in his face. It had been a stroke of luck that he had found this house. The family here had been kind enough to let him spend the night. It seemed as though less and less people were willing to allow themselves to get associated with a man like him, and he could see why.  
  
True, they did not realize that he once was (and was becoming again) the dark knight, Nightmare. No, it had been the mere sight of him that frightened them.  
  
His entire right arm, the arm he had used to carry Soul Edge, was mutated beyond recognition. It was nothing less than monster-like, and it was slowly spreading like some terrible disease. On the left side of his chest, there was a single, partially developed eye, which he made sure to keep hidden at all times.  
  
Siegfried was just about to open the front door when something drew his attention. Something was spread across the floor, glistening in the moonlight. He got a closer look and he realized that it was blood. And there, just passed the kitchen table, were the bodies of the residents of the house: a man, a women, and their beloved son. They all laid there, dead, with the looks of utter horror on their faces. Clearly they had been making a run for the door when they died.  
  
He noticed that the man held something clenched tight in his fist. Siegfried pulled it out and dropped it in his palm. It was undoubtably a piece of Soul Edge. He no longer believed to have found the house by luck — it became apparent that he had unknowingly followed the power of Soul Edge. As he held it, the piece began to resonate: he was bathed in red light as it glowed brighter, and then it dimmed. It brightened, and it dimmed. This continued on in an endless fashion.  
  
Again he found himself desiring the destruction of Soul Edge. He deeply feared what it had done to him — what it was still doing. These poor villagers had offered him a place to rest, but in his sleep he was taken over by the loathsome blade only to murder each one of them — all to get yet another piece of the demonic weapon.  
  
Little did he know, but this was just the first in a string of terrible massacres. He could feel the fragment melding with the others. Before his eyes, he witnessed the beginning of a new, stronger Soul Edge. He would have given anything to run away at that moment, but the sword would not so willingly give him up. Siegfried knew — his time was drawing to an end. Soon he would lose all of his control and become Nightmare once again . . . .

* * *

Kunpaetku double checked his supplies. He nodded. Yes, he was ready. The high priest stepped up onto the platform, overlooking the alter.  
  
Seven years. _Seven years_ to this date he had first constructed the golem that he named Astaroth. His first attempt at claiming the ultimate weapon, Soul Edge, had failed, but this time things were different. Much different. Before, Astaroth had needed to help Nightmare restrengthen the sword. At the time, it had seemed like a good idea. They would wait until it was fully powered, and then steal it from Nightmare. Unfortunately, Astaroth was killed by that fool called Maxi.  
  
Kunpaetku couldn't understand it. How had his powerful creation lose to a weak human like him? Maxi killed Astaroth with _nunchaku_, for God's sake. Astaroth had been enormous, muscular, and his ax was lethal. So why had he lost?  
  
He shook his head. It didn't matter, he thought. His creature would be stronger this time. Deadlier.  
  
To tell the truth, Kumpaetku had no real interest in Soul Edge. He wanted the sword for another reason. Seven years ago, the God of War, Ares, had commanded him to bring him the evil sword. At the time, Kumpaetku had been to astonished (and frightened) to question the God of War's decision, let alone ask why he wanted it and what he would do once he got it. One thing was for sure: he did not want to disappoint Ares again. And he had a perfect way to make sure he would succeed. He had found several pieces of Soul Edge, and he planed to fuse them with Astaroth's body.  
  
He began the ritual. It was actually fairly simple, although he had done it once before. As he chanted the words, he looked down at the alter below him. A gigantic skeleton littered the floor, with the pieces of Soul Edge concealed within the rib cage. Suddenly, the skeleton began to move. It rose up, hanging in midair as though suspended by invisible cables. Very slowly, organs, muscles, and flesh began to materialize around the bones. The shards started to glow in a rhythmically manner. Finally, at long last, Astaroth took his first breath after four years.  
  
Kumpaetku ran down to the platform, full of excitement. Soul Edge was as good as his. Astaroth would easily collect the scattered pieces, even the ones that Nightmare did not possess. As long as Nightmare remained trapped within the void, nothing could stand in their way, not even that fool of a human, Maxi.  
  
He stepped onto the platform and gazed up at his monstrosity. Astaroth seemed even taller than before. His body was so muscular that it gave him the appearance that he was flexing all of his muscles at once. He wore bizarre shorts, strange bracelets around his arms, and a mask over his mouth. They all appeared to be made of metal. The most unusual feature of the golem was that his heart was on the outside of his body, directly in the center of his chest. There were no veins or arteries attached to it — it was just there. Kumpaetku could hear it beating.  
  
"Astaroth," Kumpeatku greeted him cheerfully, as though speaking to an old friend, "it is so nice to finally stand in your presence once more. I —"  
  
Suddenly, Astaroth's right arm shot forward, grabbing Kumpaetku by the neck. He lifted him into the air. Kumpaetku was terribly shocked. He flailed in the Astaroth's vice-like grasp, and choked out the words, "Astaroth . . . what . . . are you . . . _doing_?!" He looked Astaroth directly in the eyes, and for the first time he was afraid of his own creation. Astaroth's eyes were pure white. It gave him a most sinister look. Kumpaetku could feel the hand tighten around his neck; he was beginning to have trouble breathing.  
  
Then it hit him — _Soul Edge_! The shards inside the golem's body had driven him into a murderous rage. There was no other explanation for it. Had Astaroth been acting upon his own, surely he would not attempt to kill his creator.  
  
Astaroth muttered a single word in a deep voice, kind of like a growl. "Kill." Kumpaetku's world went black. He went limp in Astaroth's hand. The golem lost his interest in the man, and flung the body over his shoulder.  
  
Suddenly, he felt lost and confused. He became aware that his memory had faded, and he desperately looked around to find something familiar. As far as he could tell, he had been in this room before, but . . .   
  
There, lying on the ground a few feet away, was his ax. Astaroth recognized it immediately. He picked it up, and his memory flooded back into him. That man he had killed . . . he was his master.  
  
Oh, well. Astaroth felt no regret. No sense of guilt. He simply didn't care — he hadn't been built to have any emotion (except for rage). He remembered that his master has ordered him to bring back Soul Edge. But now that his master was dead . . . he could find Soul Edge and keep it for himself. Astaroth smiled behind his mask. Yes, keep it for himself . . . he liked the sound of that. He hefted the heavy ax onto his shoulder, and walked off.

* * *

Cervantes de Leon stared out to sea. Behind him, several bodies littered the floor spilling blood across the deck of the ship. Cervantes did not seem to pay it much attention, or perhaps he did not care. He had been the one who killed them after all. He needed a ship.  
  
It was not like he hadn't done it before. Once he had slaughtered his entire crew to feed their souls to his half of Soul Edge. But that was so long ago. Too long.  
  
He cradled his precious sword, Nirvana in his hands. The old pirate wasn't sure how it had happened. It seemed as though it was only yesterday when he was on top of the world, strengthening his evil sword, preparing to set out to claim the other half. And then, _they_ killed him. Taki and Sophitia. Yes, that was their names. They had made a big deal out of telling him they would be the last ones he would ever see. But they were wrong. Just recently he had awaken to find his demonic blade shattered. Only Nirvana was left.  
  
True, Nirvana was a powerful and unusual weapon. It was a short sword, and it had a pistol built right into the handle. But Cervantes knew its power would never be as Soul Edge. He supposed a few of the shards had flew into his body, finally reviving him after all of these years. Unfortunately, it may be too late. Soul Edge was no more.  
  
He looked down in his palm. He held two pieces of the once strong sword. What could he do with these? They were useless. If he could not have Soul Edge, what was left for him to do?  
  
What point was there in living? He supposed he could always hunt down that pathetic daughter of his. Isabella had made a fool of him before, and she needed to be punished.  
  
Cervantes sighed. Perhaps this renewed life was only temporary? Would it were off soon, leaving him to die again? In a way, he was not truly alive at the moment. Soul Edge had resurrected him into the form of a zombie. He was undead, but he still believed it was possible for him to be killed. He knew he wasn't immortal.  
  
Cervantes looked down at his reflection in the water. He wore the clothes of a buccaneer, including a matching hat. His eyes were a milky, white color. God, it looks like I'm blind, he thought miserably.  
  
Suddenly, the pieces of Soul Edge in his hand began to glow. He looked at them just in time to see them melt together, forming a bigger piece. Cervantes's face lit up, his mouth widening into an evil grin. So, the power lived on in the shards! If he could collect enough of these . . .   
  
The pirate whipped around, adjusting the sail. Life no longer looked so bleak. 


	3. For Amy

**Chapter 2: For Amy  
**  
The front door of the mansion creaked loudly as Amy, a ten-year-old redheaded girl, pulled it open and stepped inside. She gave the house a disapproving look. The door opened once more as Raphael Sorel came in behind her. "Isn't it _magnificent_?" he asked. That definitely wasn't the word Amy would have chosen.  
  
Raphael, with his hands on his hips, gazed around at the inside of the mansion. He wore expensive, but luxurious clothing, and he spoke with a French accent. He watched his foster daughter walk over to the grand staircase where she wiped the banister with her fingertip and stared at the dust. She looked disappointed. "Don't . . . don't you like it?" he asked, uncertainly.  
  
"Oh, yes," she lied quickly. "Yes, it's . . . it's very . . . nice." Raphael beamed. Amy rolled her eyes. The truth was, she hated it. It was much too big, it smelled musty, and it was terribly quiet. Back in her old village, she may have been poor but at least it was _noisy_. This place was deadly silent. It gave her the creeps.  
  
"All right then, let me take you to your room," Raphael said, and he started up the stairs. Amy followed hurriedly, not wanting to get separated. Even though she couldn't stand the place, she wouldn't dare tell Raphael. It sounded as though he had gone through an awful lot of trouble to get the house, and if he knew she didn't like it, it would just break his heart. Besides, he tended to become obsessive when it came to her. If she wasn't happy he would never rest until he made things better. Sometimes she wished he wouldn't — she didn't feel like being spoiled.  
  
Finally, after what seemed like forever, they reached her bedroom. Raphael left her there so she could unpack, and he went back down to tend to his things. He gave an enormous sigh of relief. He was so glad that Amy was pleased with the house. Sure, it could do with a little bit of cleaning, but it was nice. She was much better off than she had been, and so was he for that matter.  
  
Raphael had once belonged to a wealthy and very well respected family (he had long since cut all ties). He grew up in France with a promising future. Recently, however, things took a turn for the worse. Raphael had a rather . . . negative outlook on life. As he saw it, when there was something to be done he would either do it _his_ way, or not at all. His disrespectful attitude made him a considerable number of enemies.  
  
On day, he found himself arranging a duel with a nobleman after a particularly nasty argument. Worrying that he might get in trouble, he arranged the duel in secret. Because the nobleman repeatedly taunted him during the fight, he completely lost his temper. Not only did he break the rules of the duel, but he also slaughtered the nobleman. It was not long before he found himself on the run, seeking refuge.  
  
Once they discovered the body, the nobles were furious. They immediately sent out guards to find and kill Raphael. Taking with him only his trusty rapier and a great sum of money, he hid in a nearby village.  
  
Everything was fine for a while, but someone eventually informed the nobles of Raphael's whereabouts. Before he could escape, they had the village surrounded. He was trapped, and he knew it. He was willing to fight, but he knew he could not take on them all. At the last possible minute, he ran into the girl named Amy. She helped him by hiding him from the guards. After countless searches, the nobles finally decided that he had somehow escaped. The guards left and he was able to come out of hiding. Amy had ultimately saved his life.  
  
Raphael wasn't sure what to do. He had never been in anyone's debt before. He became determined to repay her, despite Amy's continuous rejections. In the end, Raphael left the poverty stricken village bringing Amy along as his foster daughter. Such a village was no place for a child, he had decided. Especially since the nobles were so close by . . .  
  
It was difficult to find a place to stay. He wanted to keep a low profile in case the nobles continued to pursue him. Because he was on the run, Raphael decided that another act of foul play would not hurt. He ended up poisoning an old man, and then he took possession of his mansion. Raphael did not feel bad about the crime he had committed — the man was old. He was bound to die soon anyway. Still, he was worried that Amy would discover what he had done.

* * *

The two of them spent three long (uneventful) months in the mansion. At that time, Amy became very ill. This worried Raphael. He could not take her to a doctor because they might notify the nobles. Instead, he cared for her as best as he could, but her condition gradually worsened. Running out of options, he turned to the mansion's enormous library for help. During the first month of their stay, he had spotted a book about medicine and remedies. At the time, he hadn't payed it much attention, but now he would do anything to find it.  
  
He spent hours at a time searching for the book, but it always seemed to evade him. Once, he spotted a book that looked promising. As he pulled it off the shelf, another book fell to the floor. Seeing that he had the wrong book yet again, he put it away and picked up the one he had dropped. The cover was all black with no writing on it. It looked like some kind of diary or journal. He opened it to find that the majority of the pages were blank. The others had pictures of maps, which had been drawn by hand. He flipped through the book and discovered that an envelope had been placed inside.  
  
Curiosity sweeping over him, he opened it and took out a letter. He skimmed through it. It appeared to be centered around the spreading of an Evil Seed, whatever that was. The name seemed familiar, but Raphael couldn't quite put his finger on it. He quickly lost interest, and went to put the letter back in the envelope. That is when he noticed that something else was in it. He turned it over and an odd piece of metal fell into his hand. Perhaps this was the Seed?  
  
Before he could think about it any further, Raphael could hear Amy coughing in the next room. He set down the book and the letter, and he went to her aid.

* * *

"How are you feeling?" he asked her, trying to make his voice as gentle as possible.  
  
"Okay," she managed to say, but she looked terrible. She was dreadfully pale — all of the color had drained from her face.  
  
"I don't want you to worry. I'll make sure you get better," he said.  
  
Amy nodded. "What's that?" she asked, pointing at the piece of metal in his hand. Raphael looked down at it. He had thought he had put it away. "It's pretty," she said. "It looks like a heart."  
  
So it did. He hadn't really noticed before. "Well, I'll let you keep it then," he told her. "For good luck." She smiled at him, with her new good luck charm clenched tightly in her fist. Raphael kissed her on the forehead and went back to the library.

* * *

An hour later he was still searching through the endless supply of books. He began to get worried; he really didn't want Amy to die, but he was sure that she would. If only he could find that book. Maybe then he could find a cure for her. Maybe. If not, he might have to risk going to a doctor after all. Even if it meant he would get captured, he couldn't just allow Amy to die. He just couldn't.  
  
"_Where is it_?!" He asked himself. Surely he would have found it by now. Perhaps he passed it up —   
  
"What are you looking for?" a voice asked.  
  
Raphael jumped. He spun around and saw Amy standing there behind him. He put his hand to his heart. "Amy! You really gave me quite a fright. I was just —" He froze. Amy stood there, smiling at him. She looked perfectly healthy. The color had even returned to her face.  
  
"You're . . . you're all better!" he stammered. What was going on?  
  
"I feel great now!" she said cheerfully. "I think my good luck charm helped me get better." She held up the metal fragment.  
  
"It's glowing!" Raphael noticed.  
  
Amy said, "Yes, it has always done that," but he wasn't so sure that it had. He thought that he would have noticed that before. Something very weird was going on, that was for sure.  
  
Amy skipped out of the room, leaving Raphael there. He felt dumbfounded. One minute Amy was on her death bed, and now she didn't have a care in the world. It was as if her soul had been purified . . .   
  
Suddenly, he understood. The Evil Seed was Soul Edge, the blade rumored to be the ultimate weapon! It occurred to him that the blade possessed special powers . . . perhaps the piece of metal was actually a part of Soul Edge. Maybe that was what healed her.  
  
He looked around frantically at the bookshelves. After a few tense minutes, he found it. The diary with the letter. He studied it intensely. Yes, he was sure of it now. The piece of metal truly was a fragment of Soul Edge. He continued to read.  
  
A horrible thought struck him. What if Soul Edge would fall into the hands of the nobles? With a weapon of that power, the nobles would be unstoppable. But if someone else found the sword . . . someone like him . . . he could put them in their place. An evil plan began to form in Raphael's mind. He could find Soul Edge, and with it he could kill all of the nobles once and for all. With them gone, he knew that Amy would finally be happy.  
  
From then on, Raphael spent even more time in the library studying the letter and the journal. It appeared that Soul Edge had been broken up. If he could find enough of the pieces, he was sure he could forge a new sword. Then he would be free to destroy the nobles once and for all. But he had to hurry — the nobles were probably already searching for it.  
  
A month later, Raphael was ready. He dropped off Amy with one of his friends, and went off taking his rapier and Amy's fragment of Soul Edge. The father he went, the greater his desire for the blade became. He tricked himself into believing that he did not want the sword for himself, but instead he was doing this for Amy.  
  
Little did he know, but Raphael had overlooked one crucial fact: Soul Edge was evil. And in the wrong hands, it was deadly.

* * *

Well, how is the story so far? I hope you're not bored. Sorry that there hasn't been much action yet, but I need to get through the main plot first. Don'y worry though --- the next chapter _does_ pick up a little. Oh yeah, don't forget to review! 


	4. The Sword of Heroes

I would like to thank everyone that has reviewed my story so far. The story has been posted for four days, and I already have four reviews. I guess that is pretty good. Please continue to write reviews --- it shows me that you are reading the story. Remember: both compliments and complaints are welcome. Your input will help me make other chapters better. Thanks! And now, here is chapter three, my longest chapter yet.**

* * *

****Chapter 3: The Sword of Heroes  
**  
"State your name and business," the guard grunted.  
  
"My name is Kilik, and I would like to spend the night in the citadel," Kilik replied, though somewhat nervously. The guard stared at him suspiciously. He didn't really see why; he had nothing to hide. He stood there, drenched with by the unending rain, wearing a red shirt, and long bluish pants. The shirt was so long, in fact, that it extended down his back like a cape. He also wore a shimmering jewel around his neck, and he carried a long rod. There was also a scar on his left cheek. The guard finally allowed him to enter, on the condition that he remained in the village, well away from the castle.  
  
Kilik had been wandering around with no particular destination in mind, when it suddenly began to downpour. Luckily, he had been near the citadel, Xiwei, which was located on the outskirts of the Ming Empire. Like most fortresses, Xiwei was very well protected. The main castle and the village were hidden away inside an outer wall, an inner wall, and they were even equipped with a drawbridge and a sturdy portcullis.  
  
Naturally, Kilik was had not been inside the village for very long when the rain stopped. Normally, he would have taken this opportunity to leave, but he _had_ told the guard that he would be staying the night. He had no doubt that the guard would become suspicious if he attempted to leave before then. Seeing as he was stuck there for the time being, he began to stroll around the village.  
  
The many shops and stalls offered nothing special; if you had seen one bazaar, you had seen them all. He walked on for a little, and then he noticed a commotion up ahead. As he got closer, it appeared that two men were arguing. One of them was undoubtably a samurai. The other man was wearing a thick cloak. He was hunched over and appeared to be elderly. The samurai yelled at him for a while, and the old man answered by spreading his arms out and shaking his head. It looked as though he was saying he couldn't do anything to help. The samurai swore, and stormed off, heading right at Kilik.  
  
"Do you see that man over there?" he said as he drew nearer.  
  
It took Kilik a moment to realize that the question was directed at him. "Oh . . . yes. Yes, I see him."  
  
"Don't trust a _thing_ that man tells you," the samurai said angrily. "And don't buy anything from him, for that matter."  
  
"Why not?"  
  
The samurai pointed an accusing finger at the man. "That man is only interested in your money. He doesn't care what condition his products are in, as long as people buy them. His merchandise is fake, I tell you." The samurai reached inside a bag and pulled out a piece of metal. Kilik's heart skipped a beat when he saw it. He knew exactly what it was. The samurai continued, "Can you believe that fool tricked me into buying this piece of junk? He told me it was a piece of the legendary weapon, Soul Edge!"  
  
"That _is_ a piece of —"  
  
"Rubbish," the samurai growled. He tossed the shard forcefully at Kilik who caught it, slightly taken aback. Instantly, he could sense the evil aura that the fragment was emitting. He wished the samurai would take it back. That aura brought back horrible memories that he had hoped to forget . . . Kilik shuddered.  
  
"You can feel it, can't you?" the samurai asked. Kilik simply nodded. "You see? That piece of metal is possessed! It's evil! And there is no way that Soul Edge, the ultimate weapon, is evil!"  
  
Kilik didn't feel like arguing with him, but he knew better. Soul Edge was evil. That was something he knew far too well. After an unfortunate event, Kilik set out to destroy the evil sword. He was later accompanied by two other people: Maxi and Xianghua. They eventually managed to track down Nightmare, the wielder of Soul Edge. Maxi stayed behind to take on the monstrous creature called Astaroth, while he and Xianghua went ahead to fight Nightmare. It had been Kilik who had defeated Nightmare, and Xianghua shattered Soul Edge, scattering the pieces using the sprit sword, Soul Calibur. They had all thought they had seen the last of the demonic sword. Until now.  
  
Somehow, it just didn't seem possible. How could Soul Edge have survived, and why hadn't they known about it all these years? It didn't make sense. Unless . . .  
  
"You look pretty fascinated with that thing," the samurai commented. Kilik shook his head — his train of thought had been broken. "You can keep it if you like. I don't want it."  
  
Kilik looked up. "You know what? I think I will take it. How much —"  
  
"No, it's free. I insist. Just take it."  
  
"Thank you."  
  
"Whatever," said the samurai said. "You _do_ know about Soul Edge, don't you?"  
  
Kilik said, "_Yes_," in a very definite tone. The samurai seemed mildly surprised.  
  
"By the way, what is your name?"  
  
"Kilik."  
  
"I'm Heishiro Mitsurgi. Most people just call me Mitsurgi. You've heard of me, of course."  
  
"No."  
  
Mitsurgi blinked. "No? I see. Well, I have also been known as the 'One Man Army' and the 'Demon.' "  
  
"Sorry," said Kilik. "I have never heard of you before."  
  
"Oh, well," Mitsurgi sighed. "I guess I haven't been that popular ever since I was beaten by Tanegashima."  
  
Kilik shifted his weight uncomfortably. He was bored with the conversation, and this man was really beginning to irritate him. He wished Mitsurgi would leave him alone; he had too much on his mind at the moment. He found the fragment of Soul Edge to be very disturbing indeed. Seeing no other way out of it, he sighed and decided to wait it out. "Who is Tanegashima?" Kilik asked lazily.  
  
Mitsurgi's face lit up as though he though Kilik would never ask. "Tanegashima was a rifle, not a man," he explained. "It was the first thing to ever defeat me. While I was recovering, I heard about Soul Edge for the first time. It was then that I decided that I would search for it — as soon as I was feeling better, of course. And that's just what I did. I mean, who wouldn't? It's rumored to be the ultimate weapon . . ."  
  
Kilik couldn't take it any longer. "I'm sorry, but I have to go now," he said, and he left before Mitsurgi could say anything else.

* * *

Unfortunately, that was not the last Kilik saw of the samurai. Later that evening, he headed to the top of the outer wall. Many villagers had told him that view was incredible, and he wanted to see the sunset. He stood on the wall, holding his rod in one hand, and he looked at the horizon. It really was a breathtaking sight. At that moment, he became aware the samurai was standing just a few yards away from him. He tried to sneak away, but Mitsurgi had already spotted him. He clapped his had on Kilik's shoulder and steered him to the edge of the wall. "Look down there," he said.  
  
Kilik suddenly had a terrible feeling that Mitsurgi was trying to trick him and would push him off the instant he looked over the edge. Very reluctantly, he peered down and watched the scene before him.  
  
Down on the ground, a very official looking man walked up to the same guard that he had confronted earlier that day. Kilik could tell that the man was intimidated by the guard, but that did not seem to stop him. "I am here on the orders of the Emperor." The man was probably referring to the Emperor of the Ming Empire, but the guard did not seem to care. Instead, he continued to stare fiercely at the man. The poor guy did his best to remain calm, but Kilik could see beads of sweat running down his face. Apparently, he must have found some courage, for he spoke again. "The Emperor demands that you hand over the Sword of Heroes at once." Kilik recognized the name.  
  
Unaware that Soul Edge was evil, many people mistakenly referred to it as "The Sword of Heroes" and "The Sword of Salvation." The spirt sword, Soul Calibur, would do a better job at upholding such names, but for some reason, the world did not know it existed. People also failed to realize that Soul Edge was a demonic blade that possessed terrible powers. One of them was the ability to change its shape depending on the one who wields it. Luckily, its counterpart also had this power.  
  
The guard laughed at the man. "There is no Hero's Sword within these walls. Be on your way, for you will not find it here."  
  
Shaking from head to toe, the man fumbled around in his clothes, and brought out a dagger. Before the guard could react, he found the blade pressed up against his neck. "Drop your weapon," the man said, but his voice was no longer trembling. The guard obeyed. After taking a deep breath, the man said, "Now, let's try this one more time. Hand over the Sword of Heroes. The Emperor greatly desires the sword, so I do not plan to leave empty-handed. And if you try anything, I will slit your throat." The man pressed a little harder on the dagger. A single drop of blood dripped off of it. Now that the man was in control of the situation, he seemed much more confident. In fact, his previous attitude appeared to have been an act.  
  
"I told you, we don't have —"  
  
"Don't lie," the man snarled. "We know you have it."  
  
Kilik turned to Mitsurgi. "_Is_ the Heroes Sword in the castle?" he asked.  
  
Mitsurgi shook his head. "No, not that I know of. This all seems to be a bit extreme, though. For a sword, I mean. Don't you think? I suppose it must be some sort of heirloom or something. Oh, here comes the lord of the castle now. He'll sort things out."  
  
The lord walked up to the man and asked him something. In return, he received a rather spiteful answer from the man, who was still holding onto the guard as a hostage. The lord then drew his sword, and promptly cut off the man's head.  
  
"Oh my God!" Kilik said, completely shocked.  
  
Mitsurgi sighed. "I told you he would take care of things. Although, if you ask me, he made a very poor decision."  
  
Kilik stared at him. "Why is that?"  
  
"Because," he answered, "we weren't the only ones watching this. There is a spy over there. And there is another one on the hill over there. They were probably waiting to see if something like this happened. Unfortunately it did. They will no doubt inform their masters. Yes, there they go . . ."  
  
Kilik was surprised. He wondered how Mitsurgi could have possibly seen the spies; they were so far away, they were like specks on the horizon. And the way he talked . . . it was as though he was a different man. Mitsurgi may have been annoying before, but when it came down to it, he seemed very knowledgeable — especially when it came to battle. Kilik respected that, but he also feared it.  
  
"War is coming," the samurai said.  
  
"What? What do you mean? How can you say that?"  
  
Again, Mitsurgi sighed. "I can feel it." Seeing that Kilik wasn't satisfied with this answer, he added, "Just look over there at that hill. The one where the spy had been. I wouldn't be surprised if an army was waiting just beyond that hill."  
  
_You're wrong_, Kilik thought, not wanting to accept it. Well, why should he? Mitsurgi had no proof to back up his claims. In fact . . .   
  
Kilik froze, for at that moment, a large number of people had appeared at the top of the hill. They were heading for the citadel. "How did you know?" he asked, clearly astonished.  
  
"I have been in countless battles," Mitsurgi explained, "and after a while, I learned many different strategies. I have also picked up a little intuition. Besides, it just makes sense. Would you send a single man hundreds of miles to a citadel in the middle of nowhere, with only a dagger for protection, and suspect them to hand over some treasured item? No, of course not. It doesn't work like that. It would make more sense to take a huge army with you, and set up camp somewhere out a sight, like behind that hill. If things don't go according to plan, you can bring out the army and scare them into giving it to you. If _that_ doesn't work, you can fight them for it."  
  
Needless to say, Kilik was impressed. And worried — the army was drawing nearer with each passing second. He definitely didn't want to be caught in a fight. "Look," he said, "I don't know about you, but I don't really think we should be up here right now."  
  
Mitsurgi nodded in agreement. "You are probably right. The top of this wall suddenly doesn't seem so inviting. Let's go . . ." But they were too late. The only way down from the outer wall was a single ladder, and a large group of men were lined up, waiting to climb it. They were archers, so they were probably taking their positions at the top of the wall. Until they had finished climbing up, the two of them couldn't get down.  
  
The army approached the front of Xiwei. A single man stepped away from the others, and shouted, "This is your final chance. Hand over the Hero's Sword now, or we will take it by force."  
  
By now, the lord was safely inside the citadel and the drawbridge had been raised. Instead of answering the man, he shouted an order to the archers: "Fire!"  
  
The archers (or at least, the ones that had made it to the top of the wall) set their arrows, pulled back, and let them fly. The man ran to the right as about ten arrows landed where he had been standing, and another twenty flew at the soldiers. A few seconds later, they returned the volley.  
  
"Look out!" someone screamed. Kilik's heart beat like crazy as arrows landed all around him. Everywhere he looked, archers were dropping like flies, but more were still coming up the ladder. He was amazed he hadn't been hit. Once more, the archers shot at the soldiers below were greeted by yet another round of fire. The arrows seemed to fly together, like a swarm of bees that was descending upon a target. He watched as the samurai deflected one using his sword. Another hit his shoulder, but it bounced off of his steel shoulder plates. I could really use some of those right about now, Kilik thought.  
  
After the arrows stopped falling, Mitsurgi pointed at something of in the distance. "Siege engines," he cried. Kilik turned and saw three large trebuchets rising over the top of the hill. Oh, no, he thought. He wondered if the citadel was built to stand up to the power of such machines. And that army was massive! If they could break in, they would surely be overrun.  
  
He watched as the loaded the first engine. Trebuchets were similar to catapults in the way that they were designed to fling heavy objects to break into castles and forts. A trebuchet worked kind of like a teeter-totter that was weighted at one end. While the weighted end was in the air, the other end would be loaded. And then, they would let it go.  
  
Suddenly, without warning, it fired. A huge rock hurled through the air. Oh, God, Kilik thought, it's coming right at us! He was taken by fear and found that he couldn't move. He couldn't run. The next thing he knew, he found himself lying on the ground, pain shooting through his body. He looked behind him. Apparently, Mitsurgi had grabbed him by the ankle and pulled him to the ground. Then he noticed — Mitsurgi was _on the ladder_. The samurai didn't wait another second; he started down the ladder, and Kilik followed soon after. He had only went down five rungs went the bolder connected with the wall.  
  
The impact was incredible, and the noise was deafening. Chunks of rock were flying in all directions. Many people were screaming, but others lay, unmoving. In the chaos, the ladder lifted away from the wall, and it began to fall backwards. Kilik and Mitsurgi still clung desperately to the ladder as it fell. Mitsurgi was much closer to the ground, however, and he jumped to safety. Kilik wasn't so lucky.  
  
An idea hit him. He wrapped an arm around the ladder he wouldn't fall, and he grabbed onto his staff with both hands. Just before he collided with the ground, he planted the rod into the soft earth, softening his fall. Nevertheless, he hit pretty hard, and the ladder landed on top of him. Mitsurgi rushed over, flung off the ladder, and offered Kilik his hand. He took it, and the samurai pulled him to his feet. "That was mighty impressive," he said.   
  
"Thanks," Kilik replied. He brushed dirt off of his clothes. "But we're not out of this yet. I—" Another rock soared over their heads and leveled a house behind them. "I need to get out of here," he said.  
  
"Okay," Mitsurgi said. "I'll do my best to help you get out." He led Kilik to the front gate. "As far as I can tell, this is the only way in or out of Xiwei. It's not going to be easy — if anyone tries to leave, they'll be massacred. And then the army will overrun the castle."  
  
"Let's face it," Kilik said, "the castle is as good as gone. There is no way they can keep up this fight."  
  
"That's true. Though I still can't see why they would go through all of this trouble for a sword. The way they talk about it, you would think that the Sword of Heroes was Soul Edge." Kilik had nothing to say to that, so Mitsurgi continued. "Anyway, in order to get out, we need to raise the portcullis and lower the drawbridge. Unfortunately, if we try to do that, the people _inside_ the citadel would probably attempt to kill us. But if we succeed, then the army _outside_ will try to kill us. Either way, it doesn't look good."  
  
No, things didn't look good. He desperately needed to get out. He may be the only one who realized that Soul Edge was back, and he had to warn his friends. It may be up to them to take on the loathsome blade once again.  
  
They stood there, trying to think of a plan, when all of a sudden a rock blasted it's way right through the draw bridge and the portcullis. "Well, that takes care of that problem." But the truth was, theirs problems were just beginning. Even though they now had an escape route, the army was also using the newly formed passage to spill into Xiwei. Kilik couldn't see how —   
  
"Come with me, I have an idea," Mitsurgi said. He grabbed Kilik's arm, and forcefully pulled him to the village, away from the front gate. Kilik started to protest, but Mitsurgi stopped him. "Don't worry, I'm going to get you out of here."  
  
They stopped at a barn. Kilik's face lit up; he saw where this was going. He stood back as the samurai pulled out his katana. He lifted the sword above his head, and brought it down on a rusty lock, breaking it in half. They hurried inside where they quickly chose two horses. Mitsurgi mounted his easily, but Kilik was having trouble; he did not much experience as a rider. In the end, he managed to climb on, and they trotted out of the barn.  
  
Immediately, they were greeted by a lady who came out of a nearby house. She swung a broom at them while yelling, "No! No, not the horses! You dirty, rotten thieves! Bring our horses back!" Somehow she was able to grab onto Kilik's rod as he rode past, and she nearly pulled him off the horse. Luckily (or unluckily, depending on how you want to look at it) one of the Emperor's soldiers ran passed, stabbing the lady after mistaking Kilik and Mitsurgi as one of his fellow companions. She died instantly, and Kilik was able to pull the rod out of her dead hands.  
  
"Come on!" the samurai yelled. "This way!" Together, they rode for the gateway. The Emperor's soldiers were continuously filing through it, and the castle guards were putting up a feeble defense. Kilik braced himself. This was it.  
  
They passed the guards. Now only the soldiers stood in their way. He swung his staff as hard as he could, hitting one of the in the head. He swung again, knocking another one off his feet. The soldiers quickly turned their attention away from them, and concentrated on bring down the horses. Kilik was having a difficult time keeping up. There was a soldier on his right! On his left! Now there were two on his right. He was able to take out the first one in time, but the other put an enormous gash in the horse's side. It screeched in pain, rearing up on its hind legs. Kilik was force to hang onto its neck in order to stay on. The front feet came crashing down, trampling a soldier. And still, the horse moved onward. It wouldn't quit, and Kilik had to give it credit for that.  
  
Finally, they passed through the main gate. With the drawbridge destroyed, they had no choice but to go through the moat. The horses willingly jumped in. Perhaps it would sooth their wounds. Kilik looked to his left; yes, Mitsurgi was still with him. He dipped his bloodstained sword in the water trying to clean it off. But then they were out of the water again, and yet another wave of soldiers awaited them. Right away, Mitsurgi began swinging his sword, killing soldier after soldier . . . at least _he_ didn't appear to be having a hard time. Kilik, on the other hand, was falling behind.  
  
Up ahead, he saw a soldier with an enormous lance. He tried to stop the horse, but he wasn't really sure how. His attempts were in vain, and the horse continued to run forward. At the last second, Mitsurgi galloped passed, slaying the soldier with the lance. But in the process, the lance stabbed the horse's front leg and it gave out. Mitsurgi rolled on ground before jumping to his feet. "Go on!" he bellowed. "Keep going, I'll hold them off!" Kilik tried to answer, but the soldiers had already begun to fight the samurai.  
  
Without hesitating, he obeyed Mitsurgi's order and plowed through the remaining soldiers. He broke though the final wave, and rode off. Some of the archers noticed him, and they fired their arrows, but they were too late; Kilik was too far away.  
  
After checking to see if the piece of Soul Edge was still in his pocket (which it was), he rode into the horizon. Kilik wished he could have gotten a chance to thank Mitsurgi for his help. He never found out what had happened to the samurai, but he was eternally grateful. 


	5. Good Fortune and the Unfortunate

**Chapter 4: Good Fortune and the Unfortunate**  
  
With Rekki-Maru (the demon slaying sword) in one hand and Mekki-Maru (the sword infused with Soul Edge's evil) in the other, Taki was convinced that she had found true symmetry. Good and evil, light and dark. She was very well-balanced, indeed. However, it had not always been this way.  
  
Four years earlier, she had been on a quest to destroy Soul Edge. Joining forces with Sophitia, she was able to defeat the dread pirate, Cervantes. Soon after, Sophitia shattered his half of the evil blade. Unfortunately, Sophitia was reckless; she believed that Soul Edge was harmless without anyone to wield it. She was cocky — and she payed for it. Several shards flew into her body, nearly killing her.  
  
Taki came to her aid, putting her through a strenuous, magical process where she extracted the pieces of the sword. To this day, Taki held onto them. Still healing, Sophitia departed leaving Taki to find the remaining half of Soul Edge by herself. That was okay — she preferred to work alone. Not that she didn't appreciate Sophitia's help, but it was time for her to live her own life. It was time to take care of herself. And so began Taki's desire for independence.  
  
To tell the truth, Taki was actually best off not working alone, although she would never admit it. She had a tendency to make hasty decisions and act rather rash. For example, there was the time she had gotten the "brilliant" idea to try and fuse one of her pieces of Soul Edge with her sword, Mekki-Maru. The experiment failed, but Mekki-Maru glowed with the evil aura of Soul Edge ever since.  
  
After a while, Taki became exceedingly paranoid as well. She belonged to a group of ninjas called the Fu-Ma clan. She became worried that her master, Toki, would learn of the evil presence within Mekki-Maru and would try to take it from her. Eventually, she left the clan altogether and became a renegade ninja.  
  
She then set off in search of the remaining half of Soul Edge. According to the plan she had developed, she would destroy both Mekki-Maru and Soul Edge by forcing them against one another. This plan fell through, however, when she learned that the other half of the malevolent blade had already been destroyed. Taki now found herself stuck with the evil Mekki-Maru.  
  
This time she ran out of ideas. So, instead of destroying the sword, she trained with it. Her new goal became to master the power of the sword. In time, she became quite skilled. She never went anywhere without her two swords: Rekki-Maru and Mekki-Maru. They were both ninja swords, and were quite small. As a matter of fact, they were not much bigger than a dagger, which gave her an edge in battle. Her opponents would often let their guard down once they saw them.  
  
One day, Taki was walking through an old forest when she sensed something. The birds, which had been chirping nonstop, where now quite. The only sound that could be heard was the wind rustling the branches of the trees. She was sure that see was being followed, and it turned out that she was right.  
  
Up ahead, a ninja stepped out from behind a tree. He wore the clothes of the Fu-Ma clan. Taki suddenly had a bad feeling about this. She turned around and walked in the opposite direction, but yet another ninja blocked her path. Then one appeared on her right, and then on her left. They had her surrounded. It was no big deal, though. She had gotten out of tougher situations before.  
  
One of the ninjas spoke. "Taki. We need you to come with us. Master Toki would like to speak with you."  
  
Taki snorted. This wasn't the first time her old master had sent ninjas after her. In her previous encounters, they had always attempted to kill her. Well, she wasn't about to let that happen.  
  
As though he had read her mind, the ninja said, "We are not looking for a fight. All we ask for is your cooperation. Besides, it is in your best interest to cooperate." The four of them slowly closed in on her, not allowing her to make a run for it. It didn't matter. Taki didn't feel like running. One of the ninjas pulled out some rope. "Your hands will have to be bound. It is merely a safety precaution. I'm sure you'll understand." They way he talked, you would have thought that Taki had offered to have her hands tied together. What a naive fool.  
  
They were right on top of her now — so close that she could feel their hot breath. The ninja in front of her asked her to hold out her hands. She did. Then, she screwed up her face. She was going to sneeze. The ninja took a step back, looking disgusted. _Idiot_, she thought. His hesitation was just what she needed. She quickly reached behind her and pulled her twin swords out of their sheathes, which were strapped to her back. The first ninja was dead before he knew what hit him.  
  
The remaining ninjas jumped back and pulled out their own swords. Two of them immediately rushed at her, but she was ready for them. She ducked, and they had to slow down so they wouldn't collide with each other. Still on the ground, she rolled out of the way and slashed at one of their ankles. Pain shot through his body. He dropped to his knees, and clutched his bloody foot in his hands. Taki jumped up behind him and plunged Rekki-Maru into the back of his neck. Two down and two to go, she thought happily.  
  
She withdrew her sword from his neck, and faced the next ninja. He looked terrified, the poor fool. Nevertheless, he charged at her with his sword raised high. She parried his attack, and swung her foot around, kicking him in the side of the face. He staggered backward with tears in his eyes. Taki laughed.  
  
The man clenched his teeth, and ran at her in a blind fury. Again, she easily countered his attack, and she stabbed him in the stomach. He grunted and collapsed to the ground. Well, that took care of all three of them. Wait a minute . . . three? Taki looked behind her and saw the fourth and final ninja running for his life. Without hesitation, she tossed Mekki-Maru at him. It flew the air and struck him in the back. He fell face down in the dirt.  
  
Now wasn't that a waste of time, Taki thought. Toki must be getting desperate if he sent morons like that after her. What exactly had they hoped to accomplish? _Your hands will have to be bound. I'm sure you'll understand_. Honestly.  
  
Taki began to pull Mekki-Maru out of the ninja's body, but she stopped. Mekki-Maru was suddenly glowing (more so than usual). She wondered . . .  
  
Feeling slightly revolted, she searched the body. Sure enough, she found a piece of Soul Edge. So that was what they were after. Toki must have realized that she had a few pieces of the sword. Either that, or he wanted information about the evil weapon. No doubt he wanted it for himself. Taki sighed. At least that explained why they wanted her alive. But little did they know, Soul Edge was destroyed. Or was it?  
  
The shard glowed ominously in her hand. Her own pieces didn't do that. She took out one of hers to compare. She frowned. It _was_ glowing too. What did it mean? Surely it didn't imply that the blade's evil power had been awakened in the shards. If so, why hadn't it happened earlier? The longer she thought about it, the clearer it became: Soul Edge was still alive.  
  
Taki knew she had to stop it. She grabbed Mekki-Maru, and she left, taking the piece with her. If she was to destroy the sword once and for all, she would need to find as many pieces as she could. After careful consideration, she decided to go to the place where she had defeated Cervantes. Perhaps some of the fragments were still there.

* * *

Three weeks later, Taki found herself on a ship out at sea. Her destination lay far to the east, and this beat walking. After searching port after port, she eventually found a captain that agreed to escort her to Eastern Europe. The journey was long, and the ship was boring; the crew members were all idiots, and it was impossible to train due to the continuous rocking of the ship.  
  
After a while, they stopped at a lonely little island. Taki went up to the captain and asked why. "A few days ago our sail was torn," he explained.  
  
"We sailed well enough with the torn sail, so why bother fixing it?" she asked impatiently.  
  
"The sail is slowing us down. At this rate, we won't reach our destination without exhausting our supplies. It's crucial that we stop and repair it." Taki began to ask for the name of the island, but the captain had already walked off, barking orders to his underlings. One of the sailors answered her instead.  
  
"You see Miss, this island has no name. But at one time it belonged to the great merchant of death, Vercci. To this day, most people are afraid to set foot onto the island. I can assure you that we will be here for only a short time. Two hours and the very least."  
  
The merchant of death . . . Taki had heard of that name once before. Vercci had supposedly owned a private island where he stored his great wealth. But he had protected it with countless booby-traps.  
  
Suddenly Taki felt an odd presence. She pulled out one of her swords. Mekki-Maru was glowing again. It was picking up a trace of Soul Edge's evil on that island. Could Vercci have picked up a fragment in his travels? But Taki had thought he had died long before either sword was shattered. Whatever the reason, she wanted to find out what it was.

* * *

As soon as they had dropped the anchor, Taki convinced the captain to let her go down to the island. The captain reluctantly agreed, but only on the condition that one of his sailors went with her.  
  
Taki hurried along — she only had two hours. The sailor (she didn't even know his name) struggled to keep up. "Come on!" she yelled, feeling annoyed. He was holding her up.  
  
"I'm trying. It would be a lot easier if I didn't have to carry this bag," he complained.  
  
Taki thought it over. The bag was filled with food, water, and her shards of Soul Edge. She had packed the food and water for obvious reasons, and the fragments were to help her locate the source of the evil. It appeared that they glowed brighter as they got closer to other shards. She decided that everything in the bag was necessary. "Sorry, but we need that stuff. Besides, you need to learn your manners. A _gentleman_ carries a woman's luggage."  
  
Not too much later, they arrived at the entrance of a cavern. "I don't think we should be here . . ." the sailor said hesitantly, but Taki had already dashed inside. What she saw was stunning. It turned out to be an enormous room, rather than a cave. In the center was a huge pit. A tower had been built within the pit, and it had several flat tiers (like platforms) throughout it. Taki stepped out onto the top tier and looked down.  
  
The floor of the tiers were made of metal bars that were in a framework like pattern. She could look down through the holes and see the bottom of the pit far below. It was one _long_ drop. She knew that if she fell, she would surely die. And there, at the bottom, there were large piles of gold coins. Soul Edge was suddenly driven from her mind. There were so many coins, in fact, that if she could take only one-tenth of them, she would be rich beyond her wildest dreams.  
  
"The Money Pit!" the sailor gasped as he walked in behind her. He also stepped onto the top tier. "Look at all of that money! I bet —"  
  
Without warning, some large creature jumped through the air and tackled the sailor. Blood splattered the floor. Taki pulled out her swords and ran at the creature, but before she could get there it grabbed its legs with its hands and rolled rapidly across the floor like some kind of crazy wheel. Taki was so surprised that she stopped dead in her tracks, and the wheel came at her, running her over. She looked up, watching the wheel go. For a moment, she thought it was going to run right off the side, but it stopped at the edge and stood up. Finally, she could get a good look at it.  
  
The creature turned out to be a man. His skin was so pale that it looked as though he had never seen the sun in his life. The man's body was partially wrapped, and it almost looked like a mummy. The most bizarre part, however, was the head. It was completely bald, and Taki couldn't be sure if she was looking at his terribly white skin or the skull. His eyes and mouth were also covered by the bandages, and he was making raspy, hissing noises. She didn't think that it could speak, but judging by the way it followed her movements, it must be able to see. Somehow. The man looked utterly revolting.  
  
And then there were its weapons . . . in each hand he held something that looked like three-pronged scissors, and they were dripping with the blood of the dead sailor. They looked pretty lethal. She had seen something like them before — they were called Katars.  
  
Much too late, Taki remembered hearing that there had been a guardian in the Money Pit along with the booby-traps. If she could recall correctly, its name was Voldo.  
  
Taki got to her feet and rushed at the man. Again, it rolled into its crazy wheel and came at her. She got out of the way just in time. But it didn't stop there; it turned around and came back for her. This time she dived out of the way and found herself lying on her back. Before she could react, Voldo jumped at her. His Katars crashed down on both sides of her head, missing her by inches. Taki pulled her legs in close to her body, and kick in the torso with all of her strength. Voldo went flying backwards, and she was able to get back up to her feet.  
  
She ran at him as fast as she could, but at the last second he moved out of the way. Taki kept going — right toward the edge of the tier. "No!" she screamed, but it was too late. She was going to fall. With all of her might, she swung her arms around and the sword in her right hand shank into Voldo's shoulder. Desperately, she tried to hang on, but her weight pull him over the side with her.  
  
The two of them fell through the air. Taki's arms and legs were flailing; one of her feet hit Voldo in the stomach, but he scraped her arm with one of the Katars.  
  
Suddenly, she hit something. Hard. She was relieved (and shocked) to see that the sword in her left hand has caught in the steel grating of one of the tiers. Quickly, she hoisted herself up and lay on her back, panting heavily. As soon as she caught her breath, she stood up and looked around. It looked as though she was on the third tier down from the top of the tower. She looked down at the money-covered floor, and then back at the tiers above her. That demented man was nowhere to be seen. Thank God, she thought.  
  
A horrible realization dawned on her — Mekki-Maru was gone. What had happened? Did she drop it? She replayed the events in her mind. She had it when she first entered the Money Pit, she was sure of that. Did she have it with her when she fell? No, she didn't. So she lost it sometime before that.  
  
Taki racked her brain, trying to think. Oh, of course. Now she remembered. She had stabbed Voldo with it as she fell. That monster must still have it. Taki swore. Without Mekki-Maru, she was weak. Besides, she needed it to track down the pieces of Soul Edge. Speaking of which . . .   
  
That idiot sailor had her pieces of the sword, and he was lying on the top tier. Could she climb back up? Yes, but it would be hard. The tiers were shaped like octagons, and there were weblike walls on four of the four of the eight sides. In order to climb up, she would have to get on the outside of the walls, and hope that she didn't fall. She may have survived once, but that didn't mean that she could do it again. In the end, she decided to go after the shards. That was her priority. After all, she didn't _need_ Mekki-Maru to defeat Soul Edge. It would certainly help, but she didn't really want to have to fight that creature again.  
  
Taki grabbed onto one of the walls. The metal was cold, and water had condensed on the bars. That would complicate things a bit. She took a deep breath, and started to climb. It took a while, as the tiers were far apart. She slipped several times, but she had always been able to regain her balance. No wonder thieves couldn't steal the gold so easily. This was treacherous. Even if they could reach the bottom alive, the gold would be hard to carry back to the top. It would be heavy, so they would have to make several trips — no amount of money was worth that.  
  
At long last, she reached the second tier. She collapsed upon the floor, completely exhausted. Taki groaned. She was only halfway up. A few minutes passed. Eventually, she got up and stretched. I might as well get this over with, she though grimly. As she neared the wall, she heard an odd clanking sound, like metal hitting metal. Just as she turned to see what it was, something plowed into her, knocking her to her feet. She rolled on the ground and threw it off of her. It was Voldo.  
  
Taki struggled to her feet. She could feel pain in her left side. The clothing had been torn, and there was blood trickling down it. She was cut, but it wasn't deep. It hurt like hell, though.  
  
Voldo hissed at her; Mekki-Maru was still impaled in his shoulder. He didn't seem to notice. Taki had just enough time to pull out Rekki-Maru before the man charged at her. Man, he was fast! She did her best to counter the attack, and she made a desperate reach her other sword. Voldo moved away before she could grab it. Again, he rushed at her. She didn't even try to block this time; she just jumped out of the way. At the same time, she reached for the sword once more.  
  
Yes! She grabbed it. But as she pulled it out, Voldo landed on top of her and she lost her grip. Mekki-Maru came out of his shoulder, skidded across the floor, and came to a stop before falling over the edge. The noise seem to distract Voldo. He looked up, trying to see what it was. Taki kicked him in the head and dashed for her sword.  
  
He saw what she was doing. He ran for on of the walls, jumped onto it, and scurried along using his Katars. At least that explained why he was able to get around so easily, she thought. The guy moved like a freaking spider.  
  
Once he reached the end of the wall, he leaped off, landing right in front of Mekki-Maru. He picked it up and began to advance on her. But then he stopped. Voldo stared at the sword, looking confused. Taki didn't stop to think why — she had only one thing on her mind. She wanted her sword.  
  
She ran right at him, and then she slid right between his legs, grabbing Mekki-Maru from him. Before he could retaliate, she stabbed the ground with Rekki-Maru so she wouldn't slide off the edge, and then she slashed at his right leg with Mekki-Maru. Voldo dropped to his hands and knees. She swung her leg around, kicking him in the head, and he flew off the platform.  
  
Taki watched him fall. Somehow, he managed to grab onto the tower as he fell, and began to climb back up to her.  
  
Time was short, and she knew it. She had to go. Now. Without wasting another second, Taki began to climb as well. Unfortunately, Voldo was faster. His Katars were perfect for climbing the tower. Come on, she told herself. _Come on_. He was gaining on her. She looked up; she was only halfway there. Below her, Voldo stepped onto the second tier. He was right behind her now.  
  
She was going as fast as her arms and legs would take her. In the rush, one of her hands slipped and for terrible second, she thought she was going to fall. Luckily, she was able to hang on, but her mistake had cost her dearly. Voldo was just behind her now. Taki forced herself to think only about climbing, and not about the hideous thing that was chasing her. Come on, only a few feet left . . .   
  
It was a few feet too many. He had finally caught up to her. She could hear his horrible, raspy breathing. He reached up with one hand, hoping to grab her leg. Unable to think of anything else, she did the only thing she could do. Taki let go.  
  
Her feet landed on Voldo's head. He roared; he hadn't been expecting that. Voldo had only been holding on with one hand, and her weight pushed him down. There was nothing he could do to stop it. He lost his grip and fell.  
  
Taki whipped out her two swords, and struck the wall with them. They caught on the metal, stopping her fall. It was only when she reached the top that she breathed a sigh of relief. The first thing she did was run to the dead sailor. She frowned. The bag with the pieces of Soul Edge was gone. He must have taken it.

* * *

Voldo sat at the very bottom of the pit, tending to his wounds. He was much too skilled to let someone like _her_ kill him. She had just been lucky. If he wanted too, he could have chased after her a second time, but he knew it was pointless. The women had learned her lesson. She wasn't coming back.  
  
He turned the bag upside down, spilling its contents on the floor. What really drew his attention were the pieces of metal that he had found inside. They glowed with a familiar aura.  
  
Long ago, his master Vercci died. Even then, Voldo remained a faithful servant. He continued to guard his master's great wealth in the Money Pit, but he also looked out for the sword that his master had desired. It was called Soul Edge.  
  
A few years ago, Voldo has thought he heard the voice of his deceased master. When he went to investigate, he discovered an intruder. Once he killed him, he realized that the man carried a katana that gave off an evil aura. Believing it was Soul Edge, Voldo kept the sword. However, he never heard his master's voice again.  
  
But today, as he studied the metal fragment, he realized that _these_ were pieces of the ultimate sword, and the katana was not Soul Edge. He could almost feel his master trying to talk to him through the shards. Voldo decided right there to go out into the world and find more pieces. Perhaps then, he could finally hear his master speak to him once more. And that sword that the women carried . . . it had the aura of Soul Edge as well. How was that possible? Oh well, he thought, he would worry about that later. Right now, he only wanted to find more shards.  
  
He went to the top of the cavern, where his master had hidden a small boat. He gathered supplies, preparing to disembark.

* * *

Taki swore, cursing her bad luck. How could she have been so foolish? Why had she taken the fragments of Soul Edge with her? Now they were gone. At least she still had Mekki-Maru, though. But still, she would have to be much more careful from now on. Taki ran toward the shore. She had a ship to catch. 


	6. Quest for the Sword

**Chapter 5: Quest for the Sword**  
  
Everyone that lived in the Village of the Wind knew a peaceful life. For many years it had been a quite village that was somewhat separated form the rest of the world. The villagers there had great faith in the Wind Deity, and it was rumored that they could control the winds (to a certain extent).  
  
Unfortunately, the tranquility was not meant to last. European influence was growing stronger in this part of Southeast Asia. As Europe's culture spread, faith in the Wind Deity slowly waned. This worried Sanput, the village shaman. At this rate, his daughter might be the last priestess of the Village of the Winds. Still, with the help of his wife, Lidi, and his mother, Kalana, they taught her all they knew. In time, his daughter Talim honed her skills and had a promising future of the village's next great shaman. He just hoped she wasn't the last.  
  
One morning, Talim climbed to the top of one of great windmills in the village. She loved to sit at the large platform at the top and watch the sunrise. And then, she would begin her daily rituals, and maybe even practice using her preferred weapon: elbow blades.  
  
This morning however, was different. Talim sensed that the wind was blowing west, when it usually went east. Curious, she decided to read the winds. Talim was not quite skilled at this as the village elders. It required absolute concentration. But, when done successfully, you would (supposedly) be able to foretell the future. She had never actually been able to achieve this, but it was worth a try.  
  
Talim tried to clear her mind as best as she could; it was no easy task. Finally, she could feel herself drifting into a dreamlike state. She didn't feel anything unusual at all. In fact, everything seemed to be flowing normally. Perhaps it was no big deal that the wind was blowing to the west. It certainly didn't —  
  
At that moment, she felt an evil presence like none she had ever felt before. An evil aura flowed around her body, finally rushing into her. Unable to control the evil energy, it overwhelmed her, and she lost conciseness.

Seven days later, she awoke to find herself lying in bed. Apparently, her family had found her on top of the windmill and brought her home. Seeing that she was awake at last, they bombarded her with questions. Talim answered them as best as she could. Once she finished, her father and her grandmother exchanged nervous glances.  
  
"How could this of happened?" Sanput asked.  
  
Kalana shook her head. "I don't know. I have never heard of such a thing happening before."  
  
"Do you . . . do you think she was _possessed_?" her father asked anxiously.  
  
"No. I wouldn't think so. She is just inexperienced at reading the winds, if you ask me."  
  
"Nonsense. This never happened to anyone because they lacked experience. Beside, I have great confidence in her skill."  
  
"Nevertheless, I recommend that she doesn't read for a while." The two of them seemed to agree on this, for they forbade her to do so. For a while anyway.  
  
The next few years passed by without any more abnormal events. That is, until one day when a Westerner visited the village. He brought with him a strange piece of metal. Talim could feel an evil aura inside the metal. In fact, she was sure that it was the same evil that had possessed her. She told her family, but they were skeptical. How could a shard of metal do something like that to a girl? They did, however, acknowledge that there was an evil presence within the metal, but they did not believe that it was strong.  
  
Later that day, the metal fragment disappeared. The Westerner looked high and low for it, but it was nowhere to be found. Very disappointed, the Westerner left the village.  
  
The next morning, Talim was heading to the top of the windmill once more, when she stopped at a tree. Inside the branches was her pet raven, which she named Alun. She was quite surprised to see it, for it had recently vanished. Talim called to it, and it landed on her shoulder.  
  
"Where have you been?" she scolded the bird. "Everyone has been looking for you. What exactly have you been up — ouch!" she said, as the raven abruptly bit her on the neck. Talim clapped her hand to her neck, scaring off the bird, and she pulled it away seeing a few drops of blood.  
  
"What was that for?" but Alun had already flown back into the tree. She started to chase after it, but she stopped. Alun had looked back at her, and for the first time she noticed that his eyes glowed red.  
  
What was going on? Talim began to back away. She didn't want to be bitten again. The raven reached into a nest, and pulled out the piece of metal. It was now shining with the same dark light as the bird's eyes. She could feel the aura of the metal once again. It was much stronger now.  
  
Suddenly, Alun lifted off and started to fly away. As it zoomed passed, Talim managed to catch it by the leg. The bird immediately began screeching and squawking. In its mad frenzy, it dropped the piece of metal. It then struck her hand with its talons, forcing her to let go, and it flew off.  
  
Talim picked up the shard. Yes, the evil in it was stronger than ever now. She took the metal and ran home showing her parents. After a while, she convinced them to let her go off into the world. She was convinced that she could put and end to the evil if she could only return it to its rightful place. Her parents agreed to let her go, although reluctantly, and Talim set off on her quest. Not only was she the youngest one to seek Soul Edge (she was fifteen), she was also unaware of its true power. Indeed, Talim was very naive.

* * *

The man stubbornly pounded on the door. "Xianghua! Get up! Xianghua?"  
  
The women named Xianghua lazily got up from bed and walked over to the door. She pulled it open, gave a loud yawn, and asked sleepily, "What is it? What do you want?"  
  
"Xianghua, you have been summoned by the Emperor. He wants your help."  
  
"The Emperor, huh?" _Why should I help him_, she thought. After all, the Emperor of the Ming Empire was the reason that she had to live in this shack. "What does he want?"  
  
"The Emperor has recently launched an attack on the citadel, Xiwei. According to him, a member of your search party was staying there, and he was hiding the Hero's Sword from him."  
  
An attack on Xiwei? That got her attention. And what was this rubbish about the Hero's Sword. "That's impossible," she said impatiently, "the Hero's Sword was . . ." She stopped. Finishing that sentence would have been a mistake. She was going to say that the Hero's Sword, also known as Soul Edge, was destroyed, but the Emperor wasn't to know about this.  
  
Four years ago, back when Xianghua was part of the Emperor's hand-picked search party, she set off to find Soul Edge for him. It just so happened that she did find the sword, but she learned that it was evil. So, she destroyed it, scattering its fragments across the globe.  
  
When Xianghua and the others returned empty-handed, the Emperor was most displeased. As punishment, he stripped Xianghua of her high rank. Along with it went most of her privileges, and she became considerably poor. She eventually had to sell her house, and she had been living in a run down cottage ever since.  
  
Xianghua never told anyone what she had done to Soul Edge. The only other people that knew about it were Kilik and Maxi, who had been with her at the time. No one else knew, or so she thought. One day, a strange old man showed up and gave her a nameless sword. He claimed that it was a gift for ridding the world of Soul Edge's evil. He left shortly after, and she never saw him again.  
  
She shook her head. This still didn't make any sense. "But why does the Emperor want _me_? What could I do?"  
  
"You know much about the Hero's Sword," the man explained. "The Emperor requires your knowledge and experience. He demands that you leave for Xiwei at once."  
  
"Well, whatever," she said. This was going to be a waste of time. Imagine — searching for a sword that no longer exists. "Just give me some time to pack my things."  
  
The man nodded. "Okay," he said. He began to leave, but stopped. "Oh, by the way. There is someone here to see you. He says it's important."  
  
Xianghua, who was already busy packing, said irritably, "Fine! Send him in!" Why were all of these people suddenly bothering her?  
  
"That's no way to talk to your friends," said a familiar voice. Xianghua spun around. The man had left, and someone else was standing in his place. It was Kilik.  
  
"Kilik! Oh, it has been so long. What are you doing here?"  
  
"I wanted to talk to you," he said.  
  
Xianghua frowned. "I'd love to, but I'm afraid that you have caught me at a bad time. I am supposed to head off to Xiwei in just a little —"  
  
"Don't bother," Kilik said, cutting her off. "The place in ruins. There is nothing really to see."  
  
She looked surprised. "You were there?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
"And Soul Edge?" she asked anxiously.  
  
"It's not there."  
  
Xianghua let out a sigh of relief, but she was not sure why. She knew that Soul Edge couldn't have been there, so what was she so nervous about? "Well, I still have to go there, I'm afraid. The Emperor wants me to help search for the sword because of my 'experience' with it. Ha! If he only knew . . ."  
  
Kilik was nodding his head. He appeared to be deep in thought. "You're already going there . . . yes, that will work," he said to himself. What is that all about? What did he mean?  
  
"Kilik . . ."  
  
"Yes, I think it's best that they believe you are heading to Xiwei. That way they won't expect . . . that is, of course, if you are traveling by yourself."  
  
"I think I am, but —"  
  
"All right then, we should be able to get away without any problems . . ."  
  
"Kilik!" Xianghua yelled. "What are you talking about?"  
  
He blinked. "You . . . you don't know? I see. I thought for sure that you already knew about it when you asked about Soul Edge."  
  
She cried, "What does this have to do with Soul Edge? I am only heading to Xiwei because they want me to search for the sword. They don't realize that I shattered it, so this whole trip is completely pointless. But, I don't really have any choice, so I'm doing it. Besides, you said that it wasn't even there. So. What are you _talking_ about?"  
  
Kilik stared at her for a moment. Then, he reached inside his pocket and pulled out a piece of metal. When she saw it, Xianghua clapped her hands to her mouth and backed away. She recognized it instantly. It was a shard of the evil sword. There was a long pause, and then she finally decided to speak. In a quiet voice, she asked, "Where did you get it?"  
  
"A samurai gave it to me in Xiwei, just before the attack."  
  
She shook her head again. "I don't understand what this all about."  
  
Kilik took a deep breath, and said, "Soul Edge is back. The evil has awakened within the shards."  
  
She gave him an appraising look, as though she was trying to decide wether he was joking or not. A smile finally spread across her face. He had to be kidding. He had to be. She started to laugh. "Wow. You really had me going there for a minute! I actually thought that Soul Edge was back . . ." Kilik was staring hard at her. His eyes did not blink and he showed no emotion. Xianghua's laughter died away and she began to feel uncomfortable. She started to talk rapidly, hoping to hide her discomfort. "Well, of course it can't be back. I destroyed it after all."  
  
"Xianghua."  
  
"You remember don't you? I took Soul Calibur and shattered it."  
  
"Xianghua . . ."  
  
"There is no way it could come back. It's impossible. How could it possibly live on in the shards after all of this time? And —"  
  
"_Xianghua_."  
  
"What?!"  
  
Kilik sighed. "Look, you have to believe me. The evil is back. I know it. I can feel it in the piece."  
  
Xianghua was pacing back and forth across the room. "But it can't be back, Kilik. It just can't. Besides, I would have known about it."  
  
"What's that supposed to mean?" Kilik asked. She looked down at her feet. "You kept a piece, didn't you?"  
  
"I don't really see anything _wrong_ with it. When I destroyed Soul Edge, we knew that we couldn't tell anybody. We knew that there wouldn't be anyone congratulating us or thanking us. So, I kept a piece as keepsake — a memento. It's not much different than when a hunter keeps a —."  
  
"Get it out. I need to see it."  
  
She hesitated. "Okay. I don't really see what it will prove though . . ." She reached under her mattress and pulled out a tiny key. Then, she went over to a bookcase where she took out several books revealing a small storage space behind them. Xianghua reached in and pulled out a box. She unlocked it, held it up so they could both see, and she through open the lid. Inside, there was a single fragment of the demonic sword, which was glowing ominously. Xianghua nearly dropped the box when she saw it.  
  
"It . . . it never glowed before . . ."  
  
"I'm telling you," Kilik said, "the sword has awakened."  
  
"But why?" she said softly. "Why now? Why didn't it happen earlier?"  
  
He said, "Well, I have been putting a lot of thought into that. And so far, I have come up with only one explanation. Nightmare has escaped from the void. We both know that the evil lives inside of him, so maybe he escaped, and the shards were waken from their dormant sleep. It appears that we never truly destroyed the sword after all."  
  
"But how could Nightmare possibly escape?"  
  
"Soul Calibur."  
  
"He can't wield it. The pure energy won't let him."  
  
"I know. But maybe it was slowly infected by Soul Edge over the last four years. If it was taken over by the dark sword, he might be able to use it."  
  
Xianghua took out her fragment of Soul Edge, dropping the box on the floor. The evil aura instantly spread through her body; it wasn't strong, but she could feel it. She didn't like it. Not one bit. This couldn't be true. It was just too horrible to be true, and yet, there appeared to be no other explanation. Suddenly, an idea hit her. "Destroy them. We have to destroy the fragments. If Nightmare has truly escaped, he will go looking for as many pieces of the sword as possible. So, we need to destroy them now, before they can be united."  
  
Kilik shook his head. "No, that won't work. Believe me, I tried. On my way here, I stopped a each and every village I went passed, and I would head right for the town blacksmith. I tried to find a sword or an ax or something that could destroy it. But nothing could. They couldn't even scratch it."  
  
"Then what are we going to do?" Xianghua cried. "If none of those things could do it, then what can?"  
  
"Soul Calibur."  
  
"Don't be ridiculous, Kilik. If the sword is evil —"  
  
"We don't have any other choice," he said. "Soul Calibur was the only thing that was ever powerful enough to hurt Soul Edge. If we find it, maybe we can extract the evil."  
  
"Can we do that?"  
  
"I don't know. Maybe. Maybe not. But it's worth a try. We are the only ones that can do this. It is all up to us, once again."  
  
Xianghua said, "But we can't do this alone. We need help."  
  
Kilik nodded. "Yes, we do. That's why you are going to tell them that you are going to Xiwei. Then, we will head for Athens."  
  
"Athens? Why there?"  
  
"That's where Sophitia is. She destroyed the second half of Soul Edge last time. If anyone helps us, it will be her."  
  
"All right. Let me pack my things." But as she walked passed Kilik, her hand unexpectedly jerked toward him. His hand did the same. Soul Edge! The pieces were doing this. Xianghua grabbed her hand and pulled. While she was doing this, she screamed, "Get away from me!" in a voice that was not her own. Kilik backed off, looking startled. She said, "Oh, no Kilik. It's not you. The shard, it was pulling itself to your piece, like a magnet. I . . . I don't think we should bring them together."  
  
Kilik said, "Yes, I think that is a good idea."  
  
She went back to packing, careful not to approach Kilik again.

* * *

Yunsung couldn't believe what he was hearing. Hwang Sung Kyung — the famous warrior — was returning to the dojo. He had left several years ago to search for the fabled Sword of Salvation. Hwang had been unsuccessful, and now he was coming back.  
  
Yunsung had always idolized Hwang. He had been his hero. But times change, and so do people. Yunsung's skills were improving. He was quite the Hwang of his day, as he would say. He no longer looked up to Hwang. Instead, he saw him as an opponent. For as long as he could remember, Hwang had always been the best. And now, Yunsung was ready to take his place.  
  
He spent the entire day training in the dojo, awaiting Hwang's arrival. The dojo was located in the Hwangseo Palace, which was near the capital of Lee Dynasty Korea. Yunsung had spent nearly every hour of his life there since he was a little boy. Now, his hard work was finally paying off.  
  
When Hwang arrived later that day, a huge crowd gathered around him. Yunsung had to push his way through, but it was hard. Hwang was very popular. Everyone wanted to see him and hear his stories. A few years ago, Yunsung would have joined them, but not today. He eventually managed to break away from the others and come face-to-face with Hwang. In a loud, clear voice (so everyone could hear him) Yunsung said, "Hwang Sung Kyung, I — Hong Yunsung — challenge you to a fight!"  
  
Murmurs rang out through the crowd. Some of them watched anxiously, wondering if Hwang would accept, but others looked disapproving. Hwang looked surprised. He looked as though he wasn't sure what to say. Yunsung started to feel nervous. The anxiety tied his stomach into a knot.  
  
Finally, Hwang opened his mouth and said: "Hong Yunsung, I decline your offer."  
  
Again, the crowed muttered to themselves. Yunsung was devastated. How could he refuse? He had spent so much time preparing for this moment. Perhaps Hwang was afraid?  
  
"I am sorry," Hwang said, "but I must head off to the Phoenix Court. Maybe another time. Maybe." And with that, Hwang walked off. The crowd followed him, leaving Yunsung all alone.  
  
"How could he do this to me?" he said aloud. "Had he afraid that I would beat him and rob him of his dignity? Why, that coward —"  
  
"Actually, he only left so that he could _keep_ his dignity," said a voice behind him. Yunsung turned to see Seung Mina, the dojo's master's daughter. "Imagine, someone important like him wasting his time with a nobody like you . . ."  
  
Yunsung and Seung Mina had an odd relationship. They were friends, but they would often make fun of the other. While her comment was meant to annoy Yunsung, she did not seriously mean it. He was quite aware of this, but it still made him feel bad.  
  
Seung Mina laughed. "As a matter of fact, the real reason he had to go was because he was summoned to the Phoenix Court. And when you're summoned, you should never be late."  
  
This was true. The Phoenix Court served two purposes. First, it was a place where skilled warriors would duel before the King. Also, it was where you would report to if theKing wanted to speak to you.  
  
She continued. "The King wanted to talk to him. They need him to help defend Korea in case the Japanese invade. They are simply recruiting him."  
  
"Do you think that gives him the right to just —"  
  
"Yes, I do." Seung Mina sighed. "And you know what? I think you seriously need to reconsider your priorities. What you want to do is very foolish and selfish. Here, I want you to take this." She pulled out a Chinese Sword that was glowing with white light. "Go ahead, take it."  
  
Yunsung hesitated. The last time Seung Mina had given him a sword, he had later found the words "For Small Children" engraved on the bottom. She had though it was very funny. Seung Mina was always teasing him about his age. She would act as though he was a young child, and she was a mature adult. In a way, she had a point, for she was five years older than him. In the end, Yunsung took the sword.  
  
"It's called White Storm," she said. "It is supposed to reflect the deepest part of its wielder's heart."  
  
The sword suddenly became a little dimmer. "What happened?" Yunsung asked.  
  
Seung Mina laughed. "You really don't listen very well, do you?" That night, he studied his reflection on the blade. What he saw greatly disappointed him. He looked terribly grim and depressed. Indeed, the sword really could reflect his deepest thoughts. As much as he hated to admit it, Seung Mina had been right. He had acted selfishly. He had been so excited about his battle with Hwang, that he had not stopped to think things out. His plan had been foolhardy. What an idiot he was! He saw now that fighting Hwang was no way to gain respect. So what was?  
  
Yunsung's thoughts drifted back to the Sword of Salvation — the legendary sword that Hwang had failed to find. Perhaps there was a way to gain recognition after all. 

Seung Han Myong glared at Seung Mina the following day. "Yunsung left the dojo last night. And guess what he took with him? The sword, White Storm."  
  
"Oh, no," Seung Mina said.  
  
"That sword is a Seung family treasure, _so how could he have gotten it_?" he asked sarcastically.  
  
"Fine. I admit it, I gave him the sword," she said, folding the arms across her chest. She tried not to make eye contact with her father as she went on. "But I didn't realize that he would run off with it. Besides, it is just an old heirloom. No one actually uses it. I don't. I use the Zanbatou . . ."  
  
"I don't care!" her father cried. "It's not his, and you should never have given it to him."  
  
"I know," she said. "Okay, look. What would you say if I went out after him, and brought him and the sword back?"  
  
Seung Han Myong considered this. The last time Seung Mina had left the dojo, she had gone out to find the Sword of Salvation. Luckily, Hwang found her and sent her back. He didn't want to see his daughter get caught up in that again. But she seemed so determined to fix her mistake . . .  
  
"All right, you can go," he said. "But only if you promise to find him and come right back. No detours. No side quests. Understand?"  
  
"I understand," she answered in a toneless voice.  
  
Soon afterwards, she was on her way, carrying her faithful Zanbatou (a long rod with a blade on the end). _You're an idiot, Yunsung_, she thought. He went recovered from one mistake only to make another. She sighed. This was going to be a long journey.

* * *

I hope you like the story so far! Keep sending in reviews! Oh, and by the way . . .

If you ever have a question about the story, feel free to ask. But _please_ do not post it in your review. Send me an email (check my profile for my email adress). This way, I can get back to you. And make sure that you make the subject something like, "Soul Calibur Question", or "Soul Edge Complete", or "Fanfiction". Do this so I won't accidently delete it.


	7. Memories From the Past, Hopes for the Fu...

**Chapter 6: Memories from the Past & Hopes for the Future  
**  
Sophitia Alexandra greeted her husband cheerfully the instant he got home. His name was Rothion, and he was a successful blacksmith. He even made a special sword and shield for Sophitia, although she never got the chance to use them.  
  
The two of them had been married for at least five years now, and they had two children. The four of them lived a quiet, peaceful life together in Athens, Sophitia's hometown. Their lives were fairly normal, and not much out of the ordinary ever occurred. However, several things would happen today that would change that.  
  
The first thing happened when Rothion came home. He entered the house and greeted Sophitia with his usual, "Hello," and, "How was your day?" and so on. The subject soon changed, and he began to tell her about the mysterious customer he had earlier that day.  
  
"He didn't ask me to make anything for him," Rothion said. "The guy just came in, said he had something that might interest me, and he gave me this." At this point, her husband pulled out an unusual piece of metal. She couldn't quite place it, but it somehow looked vaguely familiar . . .  
  
"I have never seen anything like it before," he went on. "I only wish I had more of it. The man left before I could ask him where he got it. Oh well. I would really like to make a sword or something out of a material like this. Do you realize how sturdy it would be?"  
  
Sophitia, who was not really all that interested, nodded in agreement. The little piece of metal didn't seem to be all that important. At least, not yet anyway.  
  
Before Rothion could say anything else, there was a knock at the door. He disappeared for a moment, and when he came back he said, "Sophitia, do you know anyone named Kilik or Xianghua?"  
  
She had never heard of Xianghua before, but she had met a man by the name of Kilik several years ago. "Yes, I know Kilik. Why?"  
  
"The two of them are standing outside. They want to speak with you."  
  
Sophitia went outside, and sure enough, a man and a woman were waiting for her. The man had a scar on his cheek and a jewel hanging around his neck; he was undoubtedly Kilik. He looked the same as when she had first met him. "Hello, Kilik," she said. "It's nice to see you again."  
  
"Hello, Sophitia. I would like you to meet Xianghua," he said, gesturing toward the women beside him.  
  
"Hello," Xianghua said in an upbeat tone. "It's very nice to meet you."  
  
Sophitia shook her hand. Her grip was unusually strong; Sophitia couldn't be sure, but it seemed as though Xianghua was discontent with the fact that she was already acquainted with Kilik.  
  
"What brings you to Athens?" Sophitia asked. "Just traveling through, perhaps?"  
  
Kilik shifted his weight uncomfortably. "No. We are here on a little more . . . urgent business."  
  
"Oh?"  
  
"You see, we need your help," Xianghua said.  
  
"And why is that?"  
  
Kilik looked right at Sophitia. He almost looked nervous, but he finally said. "Sophitia, Soul Edge has returned."  
  
There was a long, awkward pause. Sophitia stared hard at Kilik, and then at Xianghua, and back at Kilik again. She shook her head and said, "That's impossible."  
  
"No, it's not," Kilik insisted. "In fact, it's very possible."  
  
"I destroyed it. It's gone."  
  
"That's what I thought too," Xianghua said. "I shattered the second half of Soul Edge, but Kilik is right. The evil has returned."  
  
The evil couldn't have returned. It _wasn't_ possible. Sophitia knew it. Several years ago, she had received an oracle from Hephaestus, the Greek god of fire and forge. She was told to go out and find a demonic weapon called Soul Edge, and destroy it. She left right away.  
  
After a while, she met up with an Asian woman named Taki, and together, the two of them found one half of the sword. Unfortunately, it was in the possession of the pirate, Cervantes. Taki slew him, and Sophitia shattered the sword. Unfortunately, she was injured by the flying shards, and she had to return home.  
  
While she was recovering, she met her future husband, Rothion. Using a special ore blessed by Hephaestus, he crafted a sword and shield for her. They were named the Omega Sword and the Elk Shield. As soon as she was better, she took her new weapons and went off to find the second half of Soul Edge. Not too long afterwards, she discovered it had already been destroyed (she now knew by whom). Sophitia then returned home.  
  
A couple years passed, and she married Rothion. She never did get a chance to use the weapons he had made for her, and they now laid to rest in the Hephaestus Shrine.  
  
So there was no way Soul Edge could still be alive. With her own eyes she watched it break into hundreds of pieces, many of which hit her and nearly ended her life.  
  
"Look," she said, "I really don't have time for this. Do you have any idea what I went through? I almost _died_, okay? When I broke the sword, the pieces hit me and I almost died. It wasn't one of my favorite memories, and I don't appreciate the two of you coming here and reminding me!"  
  
"Sophitia, we didn't mean to —"  
  
"And my recovery wasn't smooth either. Oh, no, it wasn't. Those days were horrible . . ." Teas began running down her face. The very though of the incident was just too terrible. "You have _no idea_," she cried. "I really don't need people like you coming here, joking around about something that —"  
  
"We are not joking around," Kilik said insistently.  
  
"We are telling the truth," said Xianghua. "Please believe us."  
  
"I can't."  
  
"But you have to! Look, I didn't want to believe it either. Kilik will tell you that. But this isn't about what we want to believe, it's about what we _have_ to believe."  
  
Sophitia started to protest, but she cut her off. "No, hear me out. Soul Edge is back. We came all this way just to see you, because we though you, of all people, would believe us. We thought you would help us. No one else will understand, but you have experienced the evil before. You, just like us, know how terrible it can be. This is our chance to wipe it out for good, but we need your help."  
  
Sophitia was shaking her head furiously, "No, I can't help. I have a family now. I have two children. They need me here. Even if Soul Edge really was back, there is no way I could come."  
  
"But we came all this way!"  
  
"Then it looks like you wasted your time." There was another pause as the two women stared fiercely at each other.  
  
Kilik broke the silence by saying, "Come on, Xianghua. Let's go."  
  
"But Kilik . . ."  
  
"It looks like I was wrong," he said. "She is not going to help us. Let's go." He started to walk off. Xianghua followed reluctantly.  
  
Sophitia was not sure if it was an attempt to make her feel bad, but she didn't care. She slammed the door shut without a moment's hesitation. She didn't even bother to say goodbye. As soon as the door closed, she sank into a chair, feeling miserable. _They're wrong_, she kept telling herself, _they're wrong_.  
  
Rothion walked into the room and saw her wiping the tears from her eyes. "Honey?" he asked uncertainly. "What's the matter?"  
  
"Nothing," she replied hurriedly. "Nothing is wrong." Feeling her husband staring at her, she got up. "I'm going to check on the kids."  
  
What an awful day. It couldn't possibly get any worse. How dare they come to her home talking of such horrible things? What if one of the children heard them . . .  
  
Sophitia paused. She thought she could hear something in the children's room. She ran there as quickly as she could to find her two-year-old son and daughter rolling on the ground, fighting each other. "Stop that!" she cried, desperately trying to pull them apart. It appeared that they were fighting over some sort of toy; Sophitia wasn't sure what. It was hidden from view, clenched tightly in their hands. Eventually, she was able to separate them, and it fell to the floor. Much to her surprise, it was the very same piece of metal that her husband had brought home earlier that day.  
  
Sophitia shooed them from the room and picked up the metal fragment. It was glowing violently. Had it always done that? Suddenly, a pain like none she had felt in several years shot through her body. Her body collapsed to the floor; her old wounds burned savagely.  
  
The next thing she knew, she was no longer in her home. She was standing in some sort of cove, but she was not alone. Taki was with her.  
  
Taki was wiping blood off her dagger-like swords. A dead pirate lay several feet away. A familiar sword was laying at Sophitia's feet. It was Soul Edge. She spoke: "This blade has caused too much suffering. It must be destroyed."  
  
"I agree," Taki had said.  
  
"I will do it, I guess. After all, it was you who killed the pirate." She raised her sword above her head, and using all of her might she brought it down.  
  
Taki saw what she was doing. She cried, "Wait! Stop, Sophitia! Don't —" But it was too late. Her sword connected with the evil weapon and it broke; pieces were flying in all directions. Some of them plowed into the pirate's body, and others plowed into her. Taki was able to get out of the way just in time, but Sophitia was not so lucky. She screamed with pain, blood was running down her chest. Taki quickly went to her side. "It's okay," she said, "it's going to be okay . . ."  
  
Sophitia was back in her house. She looked up at the metal. There was no denying it now, it was definitely a part of Soul Edge. What else would make her relive that terrifying moment and cause her old wounds to ache? Everything was beginning to make sense now.  
  
But her children . . . why had they fought over the piece? Unless . . . unless some of Soul Edge's evil had rubbed off on her the day she was injured. And now she had passed it down to her children!  
  
"Hey Sis!" a voice said from the hallway. "Rothion told me you were in here. I just wanted to drop by and say —" Cassandra, Sophitia's younger sister, walked into the room and froze once she saw her. Her sister was laying on the floor with her hand to her chest. "Are you okay —"  
  
"Get out!" Sophitia screamed. She didn't want Cassandra to see her like this.  
  
"But I —"  
  
"Go!"  
  
Cassandra started to leave, and she nearly tripped on something lying on the floor. She picked it. It was a strange piece of metal, but it looked very familiar. She had seen it before.  
  
"Please, go!" Sophitia begged, so she left, taking the fragment with her.

* * *

Cassandra ran up to the Hephaestus Shrine. She knew all too well that she held a piece of Soul Edge clutched in her hand. A couple years ago, she had watched some Asian women remove several shards from her sister's flesh. Sophitia had claimed that she had destroyed the malevolent sword, but it appeared that it was back.  
  
She reached the altar, through her head back and screamed, "Why are you doing this to my sister? How can you claim to be an almighty god? Answer me!" Her voice echoed on the walls, but no answer came.  
  
Cassandra was panting; the shrine was at a high elevation, making it a little harder to breathe. She sank to her knees to catch her breath. All she had wanted to do was drop by her sister's house and say hi. But when she got there, her sister was in pain. That stupid shard was making her suffer. If only there was some way to help her. If only she could but an end to the evil.  
  
She looked up. There, on the altar, were her sister's old sword and shield. The holy sword and shield. She stared at them for a long time, thinking. Maybe . . .

* * *

"That man and that women, are they still here?" Sophitia asked hurriedly.  
  
Rothion blinked. "I'm sorry, who?"  
  
"Kilik and Xianghua, are they still here? I need to talk to them."  
  
He shook his head. "No, they left a while ago."  
  
Sophitia swore. She started pacing around the room. _Could she catch up with them?_ she wondered. Could she find them before they got too far away?  
  
"What's wrong?" Rothion asked his wife.  
  
She sighed. "Rothion, I'm really, really sorry about this. I don't want to have to do this to you. But I have to leave."  
  
"What? Why?"  
  
"Because . . . Soul Edge is back."  
  
"How is that possible —"  
  
"Just trust me," she insisted. "It's back. And I have to stop it. You can take care of the children, can't you?"  
  
He hesitated. "I don't . . . well, yeah, I suppose so."  
  
"Good. I _really_ am sorry, but I have to leave now. Time is short."  
  
Sophitia said goodbye to him, and she headed for the Hephaestus Shrine. She was going to need the Omega Sword for this. It was time for her to destroy Soul Edge once and for all. But this time, she was fighting for her children. She had passed her cursed blood down to them, and they would never be free of its evil until it was destroyed.  
  
Sophitia entered the shrine and stopped dead in her tracks. The Omega Sword was gone.

* * *

"I can't believe she wouldn't help," Xianghua said. "After all, she knew what the sword is capable of; she fought it before."  
  
"I'm surprised too," Kilik admitted, "but there is no use worrying about it. It looks like it is all up to us."  
  
"What do we do now? Where do we go from here?"  
  
Kilik pulled out his piece of Soul Edge. "We use the shards," he explained. "They glow brighter the closer they get to other fragments. I suggest that we follow the trail and collect as many as we can, before they fall into the wrong hands. And then we look for Nightmare."  
  
"Okay. That sounds good to me. I . . . what the —"  
  
A figure suddenly jumped out in front of them. Kilik hastily hid the fragment, and Xianghua placed a hand on the hilt of her sword, just in case.  
  
"Who are you?" she called.  
  
The man stepped out from the shadows. "I'm so sorry that I startled you. I really mean no harm," he said.   
  
"Who _are_ you?" Xianghua asked again, a little more insistently.  
  
The man bowed. "My name is Raphael Sorel. I couldn't help overhearing that the two of you are searching for legendry weapon, Soul Edge. You see, I seek the sword as well." He pulled out a fragment and showed it to them.  
  
Kilik and Xianghua exchanged glances, not knowing what to think. Before they could answer, he went on. "Seeing that we have a common goal, I would be honored to join your group."  
  
"Uh, you do realize that the sword is evil and must be destroyed, don't you?"  
  
Raphael nodded impatiently. "Yes, yes. I know all about that, of course."  
  
"I suppose you could travel with us. For a little while anyway," Kilik said.  
  
"Splendid!"  
  
"That is, of course, if it is okay with you, Xianghua."  
  
Xianghua wasn't so sure. There was something about the man that she didn't like. She couldn't quite figure out what it was, but somehow it didn't seem right. She shrugged. Maybe it was just a feeling, and nothing more. "All right, you can come along."  
  
And the three of them walked off. Kilik and Xianghua were not aware of the evil they had just allowed to join them. True, Raphael did want to find Soul Edge, but as long as he could do something about it, there was no way he would let them destroy it. He was overjoyed that he had found them. They could track down the fragments! He could let them do all of the work, find the shards, and then . . .  
  
Raphael grinned. It was so easy to take advantage of people these days. You could always use their kindness against them. 


End file.
